Base and standard assembly



Sept. 25, 1956 E. F. SCHMIDT 2,764,379

BASE AND STANDARD ASSEMBLY Filed April 27, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r 22 g INVENTOR. EDWARD F. SCHNHDT BY W A-r'ronmev Sept. 25, 1956 E. F. SCHMIDT I 2,764,379

BASE AND STANDARD ASSEMBLY Filed April 27, 1953 2 Sheet s -Sheet 2 III/A VIII/[Ill k INVENTOR. EDWARD F. Scumm-r BASE ASSENIBILY Edward F. Schmidt, Wauwatosa, Wis., assignor to Blatz Brewing Company, Milwaukee, "Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application April 27, 1953, Serial No. 351,101

3. Claims. (Cl. 248-158) This invention relates to a standard and base assembly which permits adjustment of the top of the standard about the axis of the standard.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a standard and base assembly which is simple, strong, and permits adjustment of the object carried at the top of the standard to any desired position with respect to the base.

Another object is to provide a low cost, functional standard and base assembly which incorporates modern design.

Another object of this invention is to provide an attractive, useful point-of-sale advertising and display device.

Another object is to provide a device of the character described which can be shipped with a minimum of waste space and can be easily assembled.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in, or be apparent from, the specification and claims, as will obvious modifications of the single embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a display device incorporating my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation section;

Figs. 3, 4 and are enlarged sections taken on lines 33, 4-4, 55, respectively, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a top view of the device showing various adjusted positions in dotted lines;

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 77 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective of the base assembly;

Fig. 9 is a section taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 10 is a section taken as indicated by line 10-10 in Fig. 9.

Considering the drawings in detail, the base portion includes two leg and support members 10, 12 having the general shape of an inverted U. Both members are flattened and apertured at the center as shown in Figs. 3, 7, and 8. Leg member 10 is flattened so as to permit the flattened portion of member 12 to pass thereunder with the main support portion of member 12 in the same general plane as the support portion of member 10 to provide a firm, planar support for base plate 14. The base plate is centrally apertured to receive bolt 16 which holds the plate and members 10, 12 in assembled position when wing nut 18 is tight (Fig. 7). The base plate is also provided with holes to receive the upright rods projecting from the base members It), 12. Thus rods 20, 22 are butt welded to base member 10 and project through cooperating holes in plate 14 and rods 24, 26 are butt welded to member 12 to project up through cooperating holes in the plate. Therefore, the plate is secured to the base members and the upright rods hold the plate against rotation.

The upright rods 20, 22, 24, 26 are made to pass through a resilient collar 28 having a small inside diameter to closely confine the rods, thus causing the rods to naturally spiral upwardly from the base. The tips of the rods are received in cooperating holes in the underpartly in "nited States Patent 2,764,379 Patented Sept. 25 195.6

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sideo'f top member or cap 30. These holes are drilled at a slight angle to easily but snugly receive the rods in the position the rods naturally assume passing through the collar. In this position each rod has made approximately turn as may beseen in Fig. 5 in particular.

A display sign ,32 may be mounted in a slotin cap 30 and the .sign maybe adjusted over approximately 180 (as showninFig, 6;) jfrornthe normalposition. When the cap is turned fromthe normal position greater twist is imparted to vthe rods causing them to cant in the holes and increase the friction between the walls of the holes and the rods. This added friction plus the friction occasioned by the collar gripping the rods will hold the sign in a y pos t on. it iniabout 180 r ng of h norm l position with the 180 being taken in the direction imparting greater twist to the rods (the direction of the arrows in Fig. 6). If the sign is twisted in the opposite direction (clockwise in Fig. 6) a number of degrees less than 180 the rods are brought closer to a straight position and will not hold such a position. Therefore, on release the rods will return to the normal position. If the rotation (clockwise) is continued past 180 from the normal a twist opposite to the illustrated twist is imparted and the rods, on release, will go to a second normal position retaining the new direction oftwist and approximately 360 counterclockwise of that shown in the drawings. Thus the twist is reversed. It will be apparent that there are two normal positions in which the rods are twisted in opposite directions. In either normal position the rods have about 180 twist and may be moved to any position between 180 and 360 of twist and the friction will hold the rods and sign in any such position. Thus the total range of adjustment is over about 360". This permits the base to be placed as desired without limiting the position of the sign. Therefore, the base can be placed to make the best use of floor space and the sign placed for most effective display.

The present assembly is designed for merchandise display. Thus cartons of merchandise can be stacked on the base about the narrow standard. The rods naturally assume graceful curves quite in keeping with modern design and are, therefore, attractive when exposed as merchandise is taken from the stack. The resilient collar may be moved up or down to vary the proportions and curves to suit the esthetic senses of the individual. It will be appreciated that this standard could readily be adapted to support a lighting unit, for example, to provide a lamp of modern design. A directional light could be used since the adjustability of the standard would permit adjusting the throw of the light. 4

As shown and described, the rods are butt welded to the top of the support members but in practice "it has been found expedient to weld to the side of the members. Such construction is easier and cheaper but does not affect the principles involved. The base plate may be fabricated of fiberboard or the like to keep the cost down. It will be noted that all parts (except the cap 30) are substantially flat when the unit is knocked down. Therefore, the assembly may be shipped flat with a minimum of Waste space. The collar may be rubber or plastic and the cap 30 may be wood or molded plastic but should resist the tendency of the rods to rout out the holes into which the rods project.

It will be appreciated that various changes in construction can be made without departing from the spirit of this invention. For example, a greater or lesser number of rods could be employed and other means for assembly of the parts could be used. The holes in cap 30 need not be inclined but assembly is then more difficult. The disadvantage of this added difliculty is offset in some cases by the increased friction between the rods and cap. Accordingly, the scope of this invention is not to be limited to the single embodiment shown but is to be limited only by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A standard comprising, a plurality of rods projecting upwardly from spaced points, a cap provided with spaced holes receiving the upper ends of the rods, the spacing of the holes in said cap being less than the spacing of the lower ends of the rods and the axes of the holes in the cap being angularly related to the central axis of the standard to snugly receive the upper ends of the rods, and a resilient collar encircling the rods intermediate the ends of the rods and drawing the rods together and acting to impart a twist to the rods about the central axis.

2. A base and standard assembly comprising, a base including horizontal support means and vertical leg means, a plurality of upright rods connected to said base and spaced from each other, a cap having spaced holes receiving the upper ends of said rods, and a resilient collar encircling and closely confining the rods intermediate References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 328,741 Wiederer Oct. 20, 1885 332,383 Cole et a1. Dec. 15, 1885 359,940 Patee et al. Mar. 22, 1887 950,181 Maher Feb. 22, 1910 1,043,622 Miles Nov. 15, 1912 1,715,603 Kamman June 4, 1929 1,766,400 Neely June 24, 1930 

